Mistake Realized Too Late
by RinKri
Summary: Konoha is at war with Sound. They are being led by none other than Uchiha Sasuke. Naruto is currently away for a mission. Sakura volunteers as squad leader to take down the enemy. Will she have what it takes to bring Sasuke back? Or can she bring herself to kill him?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Determination

Sakura sat in front of her vanity, and stared at herself in the mirror. As she scrutinized her appearance, she wondered if she should put on makeup. Yeah right. Most kunoichi didn't even own makeup, because sweat and injuries would always ruin their hard work during missions. Makeup was only for those who were weak, those who didn't risk their lives on an everyday basis.

Sakura was not that kind of girl. She had been, once. But that was a long time ago, when she was a useless girl who couldn't do anything except cry. That Sakura was gone now, forced to grow up so that she wouldn't be left behind by the harsh reality.

The love-blind, scared Sakura was a Sakura that no longer existed, but instead was replaced by a Sakura who had trained relentlessly everyday so that she would not fall behind anyone ever again, even Naruto. The new Sakura was stronger, both physically and mentally, thanks to disciplining herself relentlessly for years. Her name was known everywhere, as someone who had surpassed the Fifth Hokage.

Today, she would settle everything herself. Sound had declared war on Konoha, and they were being led by none other than Uchiha Sasuke. Naruto was unfortunately out in a distant land for a mission, so Sakura had volunteered without a moment's hesitation to lead the troops and to confront Sasuke.

 **Flashback**

Tsunade raised her eye at the sight of Sakura raising her hand to nominate herself in being the leader of the mission. "Is there anyone else who would like to volunteer?" she asked.

All the ninjas gathered in the room immediately turned their gazes to the floor in shame. It was an understandable reaction, to put it straightforwardly. Everyone was scared of war, especially because the enemy included Uchiha Sasuke, an S-rated criminal. No one wanted to plunge into an almost guaranteed death.

Tsunade sighed. She turned to look at her student once more, only to see determined eyes that did not waver.

"Alright," she grumbled. "Sakura will be the leader. Sound will be attacking in three days' time, so all of you prepare. I wish you luck. Everyone is dismissed. Sakura, stay"

Everyone shuffled out of the Hokage's office, until only a pink haired kunoichi was left with her blonde teacher.

"Sakura…" Tsunade started, but she was cut off by her precious student.

"Shishou, I can do this," said Sakura, in an earnest voice. "It has to be me… I want to be the one to finish him off. I'm not the weak little crybaby anymore. And I can't always depend on Naruto to save me. Besides, it would be a disgrace to Shishou if her only student was to go down so easily. I'll prove to them that they can't underestimate the world's best medic-nin" she finished off with a wink.

Tsunade sighed once again. Suddenly, she was overcome with emotion and went to hug Sakura. Sakura was like her own daughter, and she understand Sakura's pain more than anyone else. After all, she lost her love as well… She didn't want Sakura to suffer anymore.

"Do you still love him?" whispered Tsunade as she peeled herself away from Sakura and stared into her eyes. Sakura smiled sadly.

"Don't worry about me," she whispered back and forced a fake smile. She released herself from Tsunade's grip and disappeared through the door.

Tsunade watched her vanish from her sight, and her shoulders dropped as if a heavy weight had been dropped on top, her eyes crinkling in worry.

 **-end flashback**

Sakura decided to put on a tinted chapstick. The color was very faint, almost unnoticeable, and lip balms didn't count as makeup because they were actually an essential. She gazed at herself and smiled one last time, as if trying to convince herself that everything would go alright.

"Channaro!" she shouted as she stood up and prepared to leave to the meeting spot.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Encounter

When Sakura landed in the forest, she noticed that everyone else had already arrived. And that there was a new addition to the squad.

"Kakashi-sensei!" she cried as she jumped into her teacher's arms.

Kakashi grunted as he was pushed slightly back from Sakura's strength and smiled at his disciple, his one visible eye crinkling in amusement.

"I can't just let my cute little student go off into battle alone, can I?" he chuckled as Sakura started to pout. Truthfully, Tsunade had specially asked him to accompany Sakura because she was worried. Well, at least he got his mission cancelled.

"Mou, sensei, I'm not a little brat anymore," Sakura said, giving Kakashi a mock glare. "Besides, I think we both know that I'm stronger than you now right?" she giggled.

"Whatever you want to believe," Kakashi rolled his eye. But then his face turned serious. "Sakura, are you sure you can do this? Don't push yourself. I can replace you as a soldier…"

Sakura shook her head. "Believe in me, sensei" she said, looking him directly in the face. After a moment of eye contact, her sensei nodded, and Sakura turned to face the rest of ninja.

"Alright, we depart now! Watch your backs at all times, as we are officially at war! Let's go protect our village from those Sound bastards!" yelled Sakura, and the troop ran in the opposite direction of Konoha.

As Sakura jumped from branch to branch, she allowed herself to let Tsunade's and Kakashi's questions sink in. Did she still care for Sasuke? Would she be able to fight him? The answer didn't matter. She would fight him, and she would kill him, even if it would cost her life to do so.

Sakura was sick of trying to chase Sasuke's back. The night he had left her, a piece of Sakura's heart had died. From that day on, she had trained in every field she could think of. She used her hatred to fuel her determination. She had to thank Sasuke for that. She wouldn't have progressed this far if he hadn't called her weak and annoying. All of her training was solely to prepare for the day she would reunite with him.

Naruto had already done more than enough for her. He had gone through so much pain and suffering trying to bring back Sasuke. Sakura had always blamed herself for it. It was her fault that Naruto had to face the consequences of her pleas. She should have been the one to bear the pain. Yes, no matter what feelings she had, she would not let herself fail.

Sakura suddenly sensed a large mass of chakra in the direction she was leading. She lifted her hand to halt the ninjas behind her, and waited. Sure enough, after a couple minutes Sound ninjas came into sight, and they also stopped as they noticed the Konoha shinobi. Leading them was unsurprisingly, Sasuke.

Sakura stared at the boy who had turned into a man in front of her. He had grown much taller, and even more handsome. The person in front was wearing a grey zip-up that revealed a sculpted chest, and loose pants that was held together by Orochimaru's trademark rope-style belt. But as Sakura gazed up to look into his eyes, all she saw were the same, cold black eyes from his 12-year-old self.

"… Sakura," acknowledged Sasuke as he recognized the pink haired girl. "You shouldn't be here. I'm not your protector this time, but an enemy. Run home before it gets messy. Where's Naruto?"

Kakashi eyed Sakura discreetly, and wasn't surprised to see a twitch in her eye. But he was even more surprised to see her keeping a cool attitude. He had half expected her to break down crying, begging Sasuke to return to her.

Sakura smiled wryly at the sight of Sasuke's familiar smirk. "Naruto is actually gone for a mission. He doesn't know about the situation right now. And I'm not the weak Sakura you remember from a long time ago. Channaro," now it was Sakura's turn to smirk. "I feel like I've had to repeat this line to multiple people in the past few days."

Sasuke's smirk turned into a frown at Sakura's response. He was slightly surprised at her cold response. Well, that meant that she had finally got rid of her stupid crush on him right? Suddenly, he wasn't so sure how he felt about it. But he quickly cast the thought away into the back of his mind. This was the path he had chosen as an avenger, and he would stick by it. After all, he had come this far, for the sake of murdering his brother. It was disappointing that Naruto wasn't here, but Sakura would suffice to get his Mangekyo.

"Fine. Show me how much you've grown. Although the outcome will be the same," said Sasuke and his troops started to run forward.

"Don't you dare underestimate me!" yelled Sakura as her troops ran to meet the enemy.

(A/N: Ok so I was a total noob and didn't know how to add an author's note at the end of the first chapter. Anyways, this is my first story ever written, so I'm actually pretty nervous about posting… I have a bunch of stories stuck in my head, and I needed someplace to release them all haha… I thought why not share it? I don't expect people to really look at it, but it's nice to just have a record of it online. I already wrote the whole story in advance, so this story is finished 100%! Anyways, I'll be posting the first 3 chapters, and then 1 new one each week. Hopefully my story can slightly entertain you!)


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The battlefield was filled with the sounds of kunai clashing and yells as shinobi fought shinobi, and it wasn't possible to see which side was winning. Kakashi was confronted by four Sound shinobi at the same time, and he growled in distaste because he couldn't keep an eye out for Sakura anymore, who was fighting with Sasuke.

Sakura and Sasuke clashed again and again, but Sakura knew she couldn't focus solely on him. While Sasuke didn't care for his struggling "teammates", Sakura's focus was disturbed at the sight of her injured comrades, and she pulled away from Sasuke each moment she could to help a falling comrade or to heal the injured.

However, Sasuke grew irritated from this, and when Sakura withdrew from him for the fifth time, he sighed in frustration.

Sakura froze as Sasuke teleported right next to her, and whispered, "We're going to take this somewhere else." He grabbed her arm and teleported to another area, a little away from the main battlefield.

(A/N: uhh I just realized how short this chapter was lol… truthfully I wrote the whole story in 1 document and then tried splitting it in sensible places and this happened… Good thing I'm positing this chapter with the other 2! Anyways, now there will be 1 chapter a week. Once again, I don't expect any reviews… Just you guys being interested and reading is enough! If there are people interested… Sorry, I'm actually super shy…)


	4. Chapter 4

Hello, here is the next chapter as promised! I didn't expect any reviews, so **3milly** and **moonlightpale** thank you so much! It means a lot to me! And sorry about my grammar mistakes, English is actually one of my worst subjects and I haven't take a course in over a year now so I'm super rusty. But I will try to make my writing perfect! Enjoy!

Chapter 4

The moment they landed, Sakura wrenched her arm from Sasuke's grasp and formed a distance between them, keeping wary eyes on him and watching his every move.

Now that there were no distractions, Sasuke examined Sakura's appearance. She was much shorter than him now, and it seemed like she had decided to keep her pink hair in a short style. Sasuke hadn't been the only one who had matured. Sakura's body had grown and filled out with delicate curves, although she still had a slender appearance. Her eyes were an even more brilliant shade of emerald, and she had been blessed with long eyelashes that naturally curled. And her lips seemed… shinier than usual?

Sasuke was brought back into reality when he sensed a kunai being thrown. He easily dodged it, and glared at Sakura.

"Something like that will never scratch me," he scoffed.

Sakura shrugged. "Didn't hurt to try." He had seemed distracted by something for a few seconds. What could have caught his attention?

The smirk returned to Sasuke's face. Just how much could Sakura entertain him?

He took a fighting stance, and studied Sakura. "Hn. It won't be easy to lay even a scratch on me. Rejoice. You said that you would do anything for me in the past, right? Your death will aid in my getting the Mangekyo."

Sakura's face fell, and it wasn't missed by Sasuke's sharingan, but before he could truly register it her face became a composed wall once more.

Sakura couldn't help but feel sorrow. He really didn't care about Team 7 anymore… But she couldn't afford to think about that right now. Her resolve returned, and she scowled in return.

"We'll see," she said as she made the first move by throwing her fist to the ground.

Huge boulders of land sprang up from the impact of Sakura's punch, and she used her strength to throw and kick them all in Sasuke's direction. Sasuke dodged them easily, but was surprised by Sakura's monster strength. To think she had become this strong… But he wasn't going to lose to the girl. She had always been weaker than him in the past, and that fact wouldn't be any different now.

Sasuke uncovered the binding from his lower arm, and summoned hundreds of shuriken connected by wire. He swung them in Sakura's direction with lightning speed. The shuriken bent and changed direction in an almost inhuman way, but Sakura was ready to dodge and block them. After all, she was familiar with the fact that Sasuke had always been a master at manipulating the trajectory of shuriken.

Sakura burst forward and immediately closed the distance between her and Sasuke, forcing him into a taijutsu duel. The two seemed like an even match at a far glance. Sasuke parried every punch with his own, and Sakura successfully blocked all of his advances. Anyone would normally have difficulty due to Sasuke having the sharingan and lightning speed, but Sakura was different. She may have been nowhere near as fast as Sasuke, but her training with Lee and Tsunade, as well as her perfect chakra control, allowed her to perfectly block and dodge Sasuke with ease. Sasuke soon became aware that he was at a disadvantage, and knew he had to create a distance.

He broke away from Sakura and stood a few feet from her, panting. Sakura was also panting, but she stood and went into a defensive pose once again, glaring at Sasuke with fierce eyes.

 _I have to get her fast_ , thought Sasuke. After a moment's pause, he seemed to disappear from sight.

Sakura immediately started scouring the area for any sign of Sasuke. _Where did he go?_ She was irritated that she couldn't find him. Suddenly, from all directions shuriken popped out of nowhere. _This again?_ Sakura easily escaped all of them. Where was Sasuke?

Sakura looked up just in time to hear Sasuke shout _Katon: Gokyakyu no Jutsu_ and see the huge ball of fire coming her way. She withstood the attack by surrounding her body with healing chakra, but now her vision was cut off because of the smoke everywhere.

"Where are you looking?" Sasuke smirked right next to her ear.

Sakura immediately whipped her head around, but that ended up being her mistake because she was directly caught in Sasuke's bright red eyes…

A/N: Next chapter will be coming out next week! Once again, reviews aside I'm just thankful to the readers who gave my story a chance. Also, I wonder if my chapters are too short…?


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Sakura suddenly felt as if she had woken from a nap. Strange, though. She had just been fighting with Sasuke, so there was no way she could have fallen asleep…

It was dark, and she was near the borders of Konoha. This was… the path she had predicted Sasuke would use to leave the village. She glanced over her body. She had returned to her childhood form, wearing her red one piece and green tights.

The sound of footsteps in front caused Sakura to glance up, and in front of her appeared the young Uchiha Sasuke, his appearance exactly as the day she had last seen him.

Sakura froze. She suddenly forgot about the situation. "Sasuke-kun, don't go!" she cried, but the boy only stared back and smirked.

"Sakura, you are weak," he said. "You cannot stop me, and I don't need you. You are worthless to me. This is the path I have chosen. Don't try to stop me, for one day I will come to kill you."

"Sasuke-kun," sobbed Sakura. "I won't give up! I'll drag you back even if I have to fight you!"

To her response, the young Sasuke only smirked. "Try it if you can," he exclaimed, as he started towards Sakura and mercilessly started pummeling her.

It was as if Sakura had reverted back to her weak self. She couldn't block any of Sasuke's moves, and she lay on the floor taking every hit. The tears started flowing from her eyes. Was Sasuke right? Was she still the worthless girl she had always been? Had nothing changed?

Sakura squeezed her eyes shut in an attempt to shut out the pain. Just then, she remembered the day of the Chunnin exams, when Ino had taken over her body. Naruto had cheered her on, allowing her to break out of the jutsu…

 _Yea. That's right. This was just a genjutsu_ , thought Sakura. The young Sasuke had finally stopped hitting her, and had backed off, thinking that Sakura had given up.

Sakura slowly stood up, much to his surprise. She breathed, and stared at Sasuke, calmly, although her hands trembled.

"That sort of genjutsu won't work on me, Sasuke" she said, and then it was as if her body had split.

"CHANNARO!" yelled Sakura's inner self as it burst out from her body.

What the?! Sasuke stood stunned, as her other self increased in size.

"YOU WON'T GET ME WITH A CHEAP TRICK LIKE THIS!" yelled inner Sakura as she expanded against the world, forcing the genjutsu to break down.

"Argh!" Sasuke felt a sharp pain in his eyes as his genjutsu was broken. He fell to his knees grasping his eyes, and saw that Sakura had come back to reality a few feet away.

Sakura had also fallen to knees, but she slowly stood back up, panting heavily.

Sasuke stared at her in shock. How had she broken out of his sharingan? That shouldn't have been possible!

"Something like that… won't affect me anymore…" whispered Sakura. "I already suffered enough from that memory, even without a genjutsu…"

Sasuke could only stare at Sakura, and he noticed a single tear fall from her left eye. _Was it possible that she still…?_ Sasuke didn't know how to describe the twinge in his heart at that moment. No, he refused to believe in his doubts. It would only hinder his ambition. He had given up far too much to stop now.

Sakura and Sasuke faced each other once again. Both were running dangerously low on chakra. The best way they could fight right now was without ninjutsu. Sasuke took out his Kusanagi, while Sakura took out a kunai for each hand.

 _Faster! Hit harder!_ Sakura continuously attacked Sasuke. She couldn't hold it in anymore. The tears were freely flowing her eyes, threatening to blur her vision. But that didn't stop her. Sakura grit her teeth and willed her arms to move. _I have to bring him back!_

Sasuke was getting tired, but he perfectly blocked all of Sakura's advances. As she continued attacking him, Sasuke became aware of Sakura's tears, and finally acknowledged his suspicions. She still had feelings for him. He could feel her desperation so easily from every swing. It was making her movements sloppy. What was so good about him that she still pursued him? Sasuke couldn't understand no matter how he thought about it. No. He should end this before she threatened to move his heart…

The two broke away from each other. The battle had been paused for a few moments.

"Sasuke…" asked Sakura with a sad expression. "Will you really… not come back to us? Ever…?"

Sasuke paused upon hearing the hurt in her voice. He grit his teeth. "I… can't…" he replied.

Sasuke created a big enough distance and put all of his chakra into his last jutsu, his signature Chidori. His hand started glowing a piercing blue, and the signature sound of a thousand birds resonated from it. "Chidori Nagashi!" he yelled.

Sakura couldn't help but give a rueful laugh. _Ah, so he really intends on finishing me…_ Sakura in response took out a sword similar to Sasuke's. It was a custom-made sword that allowed chakra to fill it. She fed her chakra into the blade, and it glowed a beautiful green, similar to her eye color. While the glowing sword was nowhere near as flashy as Sasuke's, it was just as deadly.

"This is where it ends!" both shinobi yelled as they started sprinting towards each other.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

As Sakura ran towards her unforgotten love, she had a sudden flashback to her genin days with Naruto, Kakashi, and Sasuke. Those days had been filled with so much adventure and happiness. Even through the hard times, the team had pulled through because they had each other. What could have made everything go wrong?

 _Looks like Team 7 will never be taking another group photo again…_

As the two got closer and closer, Sakura knew. Although Sasuke had never thought anything of her, she still loved him, even more now than before, and would probably still love him for as long as she lived. And the thought of that alone was unbearable. One day, she wouldn't be able to take it…

 _Naruto, Kakashi-sensei…_ she thought. _I'm sorry… but as expected, I can't do this…_

A fraction of a second before the two clashed, Sakura dropped her sword and closed her eyes, preparing for Sasuke's blade to pierce her heart as she fell into his direction.

Sasuke's sharingan caught her movement, and his eyes widened at the sight. But it was too late, even for Sasuke's speed, and the most he could do was slightly change the direction of his blade, causing it to pierce her center instead of her heart. Sasuke stared in shock at the sight of his arm that had gone through Sakura's body. She was literally hanging in the air, his arm keeping her up.

"Why?" whispered Sasuke, as Sakura grunted in pain and blood trickled. He tried to take his arm out of her body, but before he could fully remove his arm Sakura gripped his wrist with both hands.

"You… know why," she replied half heartedly, causing Sasuke to feel another pang in his heart.

"Heal yourself! Now!" he yelled without thinking, and tried to remove his hand once again, but Sakura held on with her iron grip, shaking her head. "I can't, I spent too much chakra healing the others,"

Sasuke took in a deep breath, and stared directly into Sakura's eyes. "Why… didn't you fight back?"

Sakura looked at him questioningly. "Why ask? Aren't you happy you're about to get the Mangekyo? You said you were going to kill me, so what's the point?"

Sasuke stayed silent upon her questions. He didn't have an answer.

"Yeah, you made it a lot easier…" he trailed off, trying to keep a cool demeanor. Why did his heart hurt so much suddenly? He wanted this… right…? He was finally getting closer to killing his brother, and yet… why did he feel so much anguish?

 _Channaro, cruel to the end…_ thought Sakura as she studied Sasuke one last time. _In the end, he truly never cared about me…_

"Congratulations on getting the Mangekyo." Sakura sarcastically said, bringing Sasuke back from his thoughts.

Sasuke looked blankly at her. "…Aa…" he replied.

"However, Sasuke, remember this," said Sakura as Sasuke looked back into her eyes.

"I understand you want the Mangekyo, but think for yourself- what greater things have you lost to achieve your ambition?" she asked, and again, Sasuke had no answer. For a second, Sakura swore she saw a wave of pain flash over his eyes. No, it was probably her imagination.

Was it due to her pent-up anger from the last few years? Or the fact that this would be the last time she would see Sasuke? Sakura gathered up her last bit of strength.

"Did we really mean nothing to you? How could you abandon us just like that? I… No, Naruto and I… We never stopped searching for you! We never lost hope… We knew you were trapped in the dark, so we did all we could, and yet… Was that not enough for you…?" cried Sakura. She thought she would shed tears at this point, but to her surprise her eyes were dry.

Sasuke could only look to the ground in shame. Now that he did think about it, he had been happy with them… Sakura and Naruto had reminded him of what having a family was like…

Sakura was done being sentimental at this point though. What was the point anyways? He was never going to come back anyways…

"You may have gotten the Mangekyo," she stated with gritted teeth. "But it is nothing compared to what you have lost." Her grip on Sasuke tightened.

"Every time you use the Mangekyo, remember me at this moment," spat out Sakura. "We may not be related by blood, but I loved you… I would have been more than happy enough to comfort you and became your new family…"

Each word she spoke pierced like a scythe into Sasuke's heart. He felt as if his insides were being torn apart with every sentence that passed through his ears.

"Remember our team that is no longer, and never will, be reunited." She continued. "Remember that Naruto and Kakashi-sensei, and everyone else at the village will no longer be waiting for you, now that I will be dead soon."

Sakura paused. "Although, I still wish that you would return someday… If you told them it was my dying wish, then they just might let you in… I know Naruto would forgive you…"

Sasuke gazed up at Sakura upon hearing her words, and he wanted to respond in some way, but his throat caught and he couldn't.

"I am foolish for still having hope even in this condition," Sakura laughed scornfully. "Even though I can clearly see that you will never listen. You never did anyways…" Her face hardened one last time.

"Finally," she whispered. "Every time you use the Mangekyo, realize that you are truly in the darkness now. Unless you go back yourself, Naruto will probably give up as well when Konoha hears about my death. Gomen Sasuke…" she said sadly. "You are now truly… alone."

"Sakura-" Sasuke blurt out, but he was silenced by the expression on Sakura's face. Her eyes were half-closed, and she was losing consciousness, but what Sasuke saw would forever be imprinted into his mind.

"One last wish… Leave Naruto alone. You have no reason to kill him anymore right? So please… don't kill him, too… He's our precious friend, right Sasuke?"

And with that, Sakura had said enough. She was ready to let go.

"This…" she smiled. "Is my last-" her grip on his arm loosened. "-gift to you."

Sakura's hands finally fell to her sides, her eyes turned cloudy, and her lips stopped forming words. Sasuke stood frozen, looking straight ahead as Sakura slid from his hand and disappeared from his peripheral vision, falling to the ground.

A/n: Sorry for being a day late! I haven't had the will to open my laptop this whole week so I totally forgot about posting. Anyways school finally starts again next week which means I won't have time to continue the new stories I've been typing up… after this story finishes I probably won't have a new story until next break… fml.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

 _Thud_.

Sasuke stayed in his position, not believing what had just happened, and finally allowed his eyes to roam to the floor. His breath caught at the lifeless figure on the ground. No, no no no no no… this couldn't be real right now.

"Uh, I, Sa…" Sasuke's couldn't bring himself to say anything, and his heart felt like it was on fire. Was this fear he was feeling? Was Sakura… really dead?

He slowly knelt down besides Sakura and, with a trembling hand, shook her slightly. It had started raining slightly due to the effect of clouds gathering from Sasuke's Chidori. To Sasuke's horror, Sakura didn't respond to his nudges.

Her face was stiff, cold, expressionless. Her eyes, which had once been a dazzling viridian hue, had turned a dull, muddy green, staring at nothing in the sky.

Sasuke felt numb all over his body, except for his throbbing heart, and fell into a sitting position next to Sakura. He sat frozen for what seemed like an eternity. All he could do was stare at Sakura's soulless body. He didn't know what to think.

 _I should… at least close her eyes_ , he thought and stretched his shaking hand towards Sakura's face. But just then two droplets from the sky landed directly into her eyes, the impact forcing her lids shut. Some more droplets landed right on the edges of her eyes and slid down her face, making it look as if she had been crying.

Sasuke stared for a few seconds, his hands poised right above her face. He gave a scornful, almost maniacal laugh. _So, even the heavens are against me…_

He slowly slid his hand down Sakura's face, accidently brushing against her lips with his fingers. He paused, staring at her lips which were starting to turn a faint color of blue, then his eyes moved to gaze at his hand. There was a slight pink sheen at the ends of his fingers, but it was immediately washed away by the rain. He numbly looked at his cleansed hand, then closed it into a fist.

Sasuke stood up and took off his shirt, covering Sakura with it. He spied a small cherry blossom branch that had separated from its tree, and placed it on top of Sakura. _To think that this is the most I can do…_ He stared one last time at Sakura's seemingly sleeping face, and felt something rise in his throat. He felt the urge to caress her face one last time, but restrained himself. After all, that was what he was best at doing… The rain continued to pour down from the sky, and hid Sasuke's face as he fled from the field.

Konoha was pushing the Sound ninja back. Kakashi cut down shinobi after shinobi with his Chidori, and every time there was a gap he searched the area for Sakura, failing to pinpoint her location.

Cursing, he moved faster, but suddenly the Sound ninja stopped attacking and retreated from the area. They just dropped their weapons and ran away from the battlefield, confusing everyone.

 _Have they been called back?_ Wondered Kakashi. _Whatever. At least the fight was over. Now, where was Sakura?_

"Sakura!" Kakashi yelled, but no one responded to him, causing him to become nervous. "Has anyone seen Sakura!"

"Kakashi-san!" yelled someone nearby. Kakashi turned to the direction of the voice, and spotted an injured shinobi limping towards him tiredly.

"What is it?" Kakashi asked impatiently. "I don't know if this will be any help, but… during the battle while Sakura was in the middle of healing me, the criminal Uchiha Sasuke used the teleport jutsu and they both disappeared..." he said.

Kakashi stood still for a fraction of a second before regaining his composed face. "Thanks, that's more than enough," he stated as he used the Kuchiyose no Jutsu to summon Pakkun.

"Yo, Kakashi," greeted the dog. "What do you need?"

"I need you to trace Sakura's scent," ordered Kakashi, and the dog nodded. He sniffed the air once, and ran towards the east direction. Kakashi quickly followed behind him.

There were dark clouds gathered in the area they were getting closer to, and Kakashi couldn't help but feel anxious at the sight of it. Could Sasuke have used the Chidori…? He wouldn't really try to kill Sakura, would he? If there was any sense of emotion left in him… Kakashi prayed that would be the case as the trees started to clear away.

A/N: Got a couple more reviews from last week's chapter so thank you once again! All of them made me smile the moment I read them!


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"Her scent is strongest here, but it's disappearing with the rain," said Pakkun as they landed in the field.

"Hn, thanks Pakkun," answered Kakashi as he immediately started scanning the area for Sakura.

It was obvious that a fight had ensued in the area, one of the fighters being Sakura, seeing how the ground was broken into. There were smoking trees and plants all throughout the vicinity as well, probably from one of Sasuke's fire jutsu… But no sign of Sakura.

Sakura wasn't here, thought Kakashi and he ran across the land to the other side to see if Sakura was further ahead. But just as he was about to reenter the forest, a ray of sunlight peeked through the clouds, and a flash of pink to the right caught his sharingan.

Kakashi abruptly stopped and slowly headed towards the direction of the pink that stood out from the brown of mud.

With every step he took, his heart increasingly sank as the figure grew more and more clear. Finally, he reached the body, and stared down at the face that was devoid of any signs of life.

Kakashi squeezed his eyes shut, thinking it was a dream, but when he opened his eyes once again, he couldn't deny the reality at the sight in front of him. Sakura was dead.

"Sakura…" murmured Kakashi as he fell to his knees and lifted a hand to her face. Her body had already turned ice cold from the rain, and Kakashi could only stare in despair at Sakura. She would have yelled at him for being so late at this point… but she lay still in the grass.

What was this white covering on her as well? And a… cherry blossom branch? It was probably Sasuke's… Kakashi thought. How ironic. _If you still cared in the slightest for her, why did you kill her?! All she did was hope for you to return…_

Kakashi stayed still in his position, sitting in the rain, not taking his eyes off of Sakura. His eyes were full of suffering and regret. He had promised himself that he would never let a comrade die again. And yet, here was his student, right before his eyes, empty of life.

Kakashi had always felt sorry towards Sakura. He had neglected her, focusing all of his time on Naruto and Sasuke. Sakura had never said it, but he knew she had been hurt. That's why Kakashi wanted to take care of her now, and focus on regaining her trust and friendship. But that chance was now forever lost, because Sakura was… gone.

After many minutes, Pakkun finally walked over to his master and placed a paw on his leg. "Kakashi, the others are going to get worried for you for taking so long. And because of the rain, Sasuke's scent has disappeared… I can still try tracking him if you want…"

"No," Kakashi said, finally recovering from his shock. Mourning could come later. Sasuke could be dealt with later. Right now, he had to bring Sakura back home, where she belonged.

"Go tell the others that I will be heading back first," said Kakashi, and Pakkun nodded, giving one last look before heading back into the forest.

Kakashi scooped Sakura into his arms, and considered throwing the shirt away from anger, but decided to leave it. It was Sasuke's last memento to Sakura anyways… Foolish Sakura probably would have wanted it…

Kakashi leapt into the forest, in the direction of Konoha. He gazed at the girl he was carrying in his arms, and chuckled ruefully. It had been a many years since he last carried Sakura.

"You've gotten awfully heavy, Sakura," he said as he jumped from branch to branch.

A/N: I'm sorry for being a day late once again! School has been hectic already and I already feel very fatigued… I fell asleep almost immediately after dinner and ended up sleeping for 12 hours on Friday… I think I'll be posting on Saturdays now.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Kakashi carried Sakura delicately but firmly, as if trying to prevent more harm from reaching her, although it was a wasted action. Keeping Sakura tucked safely into his arms, he jumped from branch to branch at his fastest speed, but the distance to Konoha didn't feel like it was decreasing at all.

He couldn't help but gaze down at his student's seemingly sleeping face. Although his mask covered his face, his sorrow was evident from his one visible eye.

First, he had failed to convince Sasuke to stay. Now, he had lost Sakura. Now, only Naruto was left… putting him in the exact same position Kakashi had been in when Obito and Rin and died. Upon realizing this, Kakashi thought himself as a failure of a leader. He had been the one fighting alongside Sakura. He should have kept a better watch on her. Because of his faults, someone else (Naruto) was now going to face the consequences. Naruto and Kakashi had both already lost so many loved ones. The death of Sakura would surely cause Naruto to fall into depression, because Kakashi himself was only filled with emotions of sorrow and regret.

 _Hopefully Naruto isn't back from his mission yet_ , Kakashi hoped as the gates of Konoha appeared.

As he landed in front, a few ninja noticed him and came to greet him.

"Kakashi-san!" they yelled, happy that their comrade was back, and still oblivious to the girl in his arms.

Kakashi only looked at them, and gave a slight nod. Confused, the ninja finally noticed Sakura in his arms.

"Is that… Haruno Sakura?" they gasped as they recognized her hair. Kakashi only stared down at Sakura's face.

"What happened? Was the war against the Village of Sound a loss?" the shinobi asked, panicking.

Kakashi glared at them, and wanted to kill them for being insensitive at the moment, but he knew that he wouldn't feel any better doing so.

"Konoha won. I'm sorry, but I need to report what happened immediately to the Fifth Hokage, so if you would please excuse me…"

Kakashi prepared to jump across the buildings' roofs, but just then he heard someone land behind him.

"Kakashi-sensei!" yelled an all too familiar voice.

Kakashi froze. His grip on Sakura tightened, and he mentally prepared himself for what was about to happen. He always had the worst timing when it came to these kinds of things…

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto yelled again. "I heard about the war! I ran back the moment I finished my mission! I heard that Sakura-chan was the leader? I'm so proud of her! I heard that she fought against that Sasuke teme! Since you're back that means everything is ok right? Where's Sakura?"

Kakashi braced himself for Naruto's reaction, and slowly turned to face him, Sakura finally becoming visible to Naruto.

"Oh what? Was Sakura-chan that tired that you had to carry her back? It really must have been a tough battle, eh? I wish I could've fought with you guys!" laughed Naruto as he walked closer to Kakashi.

Of course Naruto wouldn't understand. If it hadn't been for the situation, Kakashi would have laughed as well. But his expression didn't change. "Naruto…" Kakashi whispered. "I'm sorry…"

"Nani nani? For what?" Naruto shouted, and then he finally noticed the paleness of Sakura's face, and how her limp body didn't stir once in Kakashi's arms.

Naruto stared at the lifeless Sakura, and Kakashi closed his eyes, afraid to see his reaction.

"…Ne, Kakashi-sensei, I'm just taking it the wrong way right?" Naruto said, forcing out a laugh. "Sakura-chan's just super tired right? Sakura-chan, it's time to wake up now," Naruto grabbed Sakura's shoulder and shook her slightly, but she didn't respond.

"This isn't real, right Kakashi-sensei? Sakura-chan's just playing a joke on us right?" Naruto's voice started to increase in volume.

Kakashi could only stare back miserably at Naruto. "Stop it, Naruto…" he whispered. "It's only making it harder for the both of us."

Upon hearing Kakashi's words, Naruto finally understood, and removed his hand from Sakura's body. Sakura-chan was dead… How? She was one of the strongest ninja in the whole world, on par with himself! How could she have died?

Naruto hands closed into fists. He could feel the Kyuubi in him threatening to release. "Who did it." He asked. "WHO DID IT!"

Kakashi couldn't look Naruto in the face. Then Naruto's eyes noticed the white shirt covering Sakura. It looked vaguely familiar to someone's outfit he had seen a long time ago…

"…Sas…uke…?" cried Naruto. "He killed her?"

Kakashi paused for a second, and then slowly nodded.

Naruto sat in disbelief. The Sasuke he knew wouldn't have killed Sakura. The Sasuke who was his best friend wouldn't have killed his comrade…

"I'LL GET HIM!" screamed Naruto, but he was silenced by a sharp "Naruto!" from Kakashi.

"Right now, Sakura needs to be taken care of first." ordered Kakashi.

Naruto glared at his teacher, but he forced himself to calm down because he knew Kakashi was right. He noticed that Kakashi's sharingan was uncovered, and that his hair was in a disarray. Did he come immediately after the war? Naruto's figure shriveled as he saw what state the usually cool Kakashi was in.

"I… I'll come with you to Tsunade baa-chan…" he answered, defeated. Kakashi nodded, and the two proceeded to enter Konoha. They jumped across the roofs in silence for a couple of minutes.

Naruto couldn't understand how Sakura had died so easily though.

"Ne, Kakashi-sensei…" he started. Kakashi looked at him, questioningly.

"Did you see when Sakura died?" asked Naruto. He confirmed a 'no' through Kakashi's guilty expression.

"Why are you so suddenly curious about that?" Kakashi asked.

"Because!" Naruto burst out. "There's no way Sakura could have died that easily! She was as strong as me! Even Sasuke would have trouble against her! And if you look closely, she didn't even release her Hundred Seal or use a summoning jutsu to call her slug! There's just no way she could have died in a fight, especially since she's a Medicial-nin! Unless…" Naruto faltered.

Kakashi's eyes widened. He knew what Naruto was getting at, and looked down at the girl in his arms again. _So she had never stopped loving him, after all…_ he thought sadly. It had been a mistake to send her to the battlefield.

Upon studying Kakashi's face, Naruto knew his suspicions were correct. He glanced at his teammate's peaceful face, and tears started to pool around his eyes.

"Sakura-chan, you idiot…" he murmured silently as they landed in front of the Hokage's office.

A/N: so I saw a very sad review ahaha… All I can say is I'm sorry… Please forgive me ;_; Next chapter or rather epilogue will be the last so please look forward to it?


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10/Epilogue

In the Village of Sound, in Orochimaru's secret hideout, Sasuke had trapped himself in his living quarters. He had yelled to not have anyone disturb him, and had paced around in his room lifelessly for a long time. He didn't know how long he had stayed in there so far. A few days? Maybe a week? It didn't matter.

Sasuke obliviously sat on his bed, and his mind replayed Sakura's last words over and over. The pain in his heart hadn't subsided at all; even now he felt a throbbing in his chest. He stared at his left hand, at the hand that had pierced Sakura's body. It had been cleaned when he came back, but Sasuke could still envision the traces of red sliding down his hand, as if the blood was still there…

He closed his eyes, but the only images that flashed into his mind were the images of Sakura's lifeless face.

Why was he feeling this way? Why did it hurt so much? He had finally been able to advance his eyes, and yet… why did he feel so much regret? Hadn't he rid himself of all feelings towards everyone when he had left that night?

Trying to shake away his thoughts, Sasuke wobbled to the bathroom and splashed his face with cold water. For some reason, the water felt like ice piercing his face. He turned off the faucet and gazed up to see his reflection in the mirror.

What he saw were his blood-red eyes, with the unmistakable design of a Mangekyo. He had finally gotten it. But he didn't feel accomplished at all. Instead, he felt suffering.

Sasuke felt disgusted upon seeing his eyes in the mirror. The more he stared at his reflection, the more disgusted he became with himself.

Crack!

Without thinking, he had punched the mirror with his left hand, shattering it. As he withdrew his hand to relieve the pain, Sasuke saw the blood trickle down his arm, and suddenly he was hit with a wave of all the memories he had shared with Team 7, and with Sakura.

"Stop!" yelled Sasuke as he clutched his eyes. But his mind replayed every scene he had shared with his past team, until finally it ended with the latest memory of Sakura's death.

Sasuke sank to the floor, one hand clutching his heart. The usual silence of his room was filled with the sounds of his raspy breaths.

Ah, he finally understood why he felt this way. He still loved Sakura. He had never gotten rid of his feelings for her no matter how much he had tried to. No matter what he did to shut her out, she still had found a way to plant herself into his heart.

 _What have I done?_

Sasuke lifted his head and peered up at the bright light in his bathroom. As his eyes grew watery, Sasuke finally understood Sakura's question to him.

 _In exchange for your Mangekyo, what greater things have you lost?_

He had lost his best friend. He had lost the chance to rebuild his team and relationships. He had lost the chance to return home. He had lost any chance at attaining happiness. And most importantly, he had lost his lover.

Sasuke continuing sobbing on the bathroom floor, as he finally realized. That he had made a grave mistake. A mistake realized too late. That now, he was truly alone in the darkness.

"Sakura…" he wept as he bent over and brought his arms and head down to the floor.

"I'm sorry…"

"Sakura…"

"Forgive me." He whispered, but there was no one to answer him in the cold silence of the dark room.

A/N: And that is officially the end of this series! Thank you for reading until the end! Yea… it was a 'sad ending' (Mr. Sunshine reference that last episode emotionally killed me TT_TT). I just thought Sakura was a real trooper for believing in Sasuke that is real love right there I'm sure most people wouldn't have been able to hold on for so long. But I like my fair share of sad endings so I thought why not write one? Anyways, college has already gotten hectic (premed majors unite!) so I haven't had time to finish my other stories :( It's gonna be a while before I post a new story, but I guess as a sneak peek you can look forward to a sakusaso story and fe:fates leoxcorrin story sometime in the future? It might take a while. Anyways, thank you once again for all the support and follows! Reading your reviews has given me lots of happiness! Until next time!


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